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History · Hamill

Hamill’s post office opened in 1910, and 100% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1971 on.

1910first post office
0on the National Register
100%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Hamill began

When was Hamill founded?

1910

The Hamill post office opened in 1910, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 14116 years
Founding year: the first Hamill post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Hamill’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Hamill are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Hamill’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Hamill’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story

How Hamill came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Hamill.

Read it all →

The town was started in April 1909 on the east side of No Moccasin Lake. Originally named Roseland, Hamill was renamed for Gail Hamill the pioneer merchant, postmaster and banker in town. In 1909 the Milwaukee Road surveyed a route from Oacoma, South Dakota through Roseland and beyond but the line was never built.

Carrie Ingalls (sister of Little House on the Prairie's Laura Ingalls Wilder) was transferred to the local newspaper; Roseland Review in 1910, from Pedro, South Dakota.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

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On the map

Hamill on the map, 1971 to 1986

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Hamill. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Hamill on the 1971 USGS mapHamill on the 1986 USGS map1971Hamill sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Hamill.

Questions about Hamill’s history

What year was Hamill founded?

The Hamill post office opened in 1910, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikipedia and U.S. Geological Survey historical maps. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.